Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh gestures to the crowd in the final minute against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter in an AFC Wild Card game at M&T Bank Stadium. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
In a matchup that pitted two teams heading in opposite directions leading into the playoffs, it would have been easy for the Baltimore Ravens to slip up against their division rival.
Instead, the Ravens delivered a dominant performance in a 28-14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wild Card Round. With the win, Baltimore advances to the AFC Divisional round, where it will either face the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo or host the Houston Texans. Who the Ravens face depends on the result of the Bills vs. Denver Broncos on Sunday.
The Ravens controlled throughout, as they never led by less than 14 points in the second half against Pittsburgh. With the way Baltimore played, head coach John Harbaugh was elated with how his team was able to execute against its AFC North rival.
“To play the way they did, [I’m] just so proud of them. [I’m] so proud of what they did,” Harbaugh said. “They came out and they understood how to win a football game like this, and they knew how to win it. It’s one thing to know it, [but] it’s another thing to execute it and do it, and they did it, and I’m proud of those guys for that.”
Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry were at the core of the Ravens’ success on Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium. Jackson completed 16 of 21 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns and he ran for 81 yards. Henry further proved why Baltimore signed him in the offseason, as he had 26 carries for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
Henry has run for over 150 yards four times in the playoffs, tying him with Terrell Davis for the all-time lead.
A strong start ultimately proved to be the difference for Baltimore. The Ravens led 21-0 at halftime on the strength of three touchdown drives, including one when they ran 13 times for 85 yards and capped it off with an eight-yard touchdown run by Henry. That particular drive epitomized the Ravens‘ performance for Harbaugh in their dominant win.
“Whatever adversity you’re faced with, find a way to overcome, and they did it with execution, [and] they did it with physicality,” Harbaugh said. “They did it by playing one game at a time [and] by being poised and just understanding it’s going to be a long game, [and] there’s going to be a lot of plays. Let’s try to put as many good plays together as we could, and they just kind of kept it that simple.”
